Residents’ trust predicting attitudes towards infill development

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse what constitutes trust for residents in the infill development context, who are the targets of trust, and does residents’ trust predict their attitudes towards infill development. Design/methodology/approach Two studies were carried out. A qualitative study in three housing developments was followed by a quantitative study with 906 respondents in the Helsinki area, Finland. Findings Four stakeholders relevant to the residents’ trust were identified: the board of housing development, the housing manager, city planners, and construction companies. Three dimensions were found to constitute residents’ trust in these stakeholders (competence, benevolence and integrity). Furthermore, analyses revealed that trust in city planners and construction companies significantly predicted residents’ attitudes towards infill development. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study have implications on the management of the infill development process. More attention should be paid to how residents’ perceptions of trust towards the other stakeholders are formed in order to facilitate successful infill projects. The quantitative study was carried out in different residential areas. Based on this study, the authors were not able to analyse whether and how the characteristics of the residential areas might influence the results, which represents a limitation of this study. Originality/value This paper provides in-depth insights into the role of trust in explaining residents’ attitudes towards infill development. Previous research devoted to the topic is scarce, neglects residents’ perspectives and lacks empirical evidence. The discussions are mainly contemplation based on case examples. No previous studies have explicitly studied the significance of trust with large samples.